Hocus Pocus
by domino.dice
Summary: Here you are... for all of you Clow fans out there! Through a fluke of magic, a young Clow Reed is flung into Sakura's time. No ClowSakura... just a cute funfic.
1. 1

Hocus Pocus  
  
1 'Ooooooh!' Came a strained and rather flustered voice. 'That's not right either... agh, I'll just try again, then.' The speaker said aloud, keeping up his habit of talking to himself. He stood and strode around the room a few times before settling down on a cushion in front of a large window. He sat with his back to it and sighed thoughtfully.  
  
'... Young Master?' Said a timid male voice from an open door that was closed only a few moments ago.  
  
'What is it, Arthur?' he replied rather impatiently.  
  
'Dinner, Young Master,' Arthur said as though he regretted saying so.  
  
'I do not wish for dinner.'  
  
'Then could I bring you something instead?'  
  
'If you must,' He said, his voice softening some. He held up a hand as Arthur turned to leave. 'Nay, hold a moment... do not... do not tell my father what I am doing. I know you are brighter than you are given credit for, and you can tell certainly that I am not doing my studies, but keep it to yourself, if you will.'  
  
'Yes, Master Clow.' Arthur bowed his head slightly and left the room, closing the door behind him.  
  
Clow sighed and stood up again. He began to pace restlessly, remembering the words of his father, about how patients was their creed, but ignoring it for the time being. He had been experimenting with several spells that strictly required a certain phase of the moon. He was trying to see if he could make them work if the moon was in the wrong phase, but had been so far unsuccessful. His father frowned on Clow's efforts so far with spell experimentation, as Clow's last attempt resulted in his, and his supervising servant's, clothes falling off inexplicably. His father was rather vexed at this, and forbade Clow from doing such experiments again. Clow believed that this had something to do with the fact that the servant who had been supervising him was a young lady. He had done more than his father, though, who had only written his first spell two years ago, whereas Clow already had a pretty hefty Book of Shadows.  
  
Still, being forbidden to do so wasn't going to stop him. There was so much potential in so many spells he had seen that the writer had either ignored it, or simply wasn't clever enough to see it. Clow knew he could unlock this potential, given time and resources, but all he had available to him now was his room, his Book of Shadows, and his study notebooks. He was restricted to his room, except for meals, and he had been temporarily relieved of his study texts and alchemy sets. His father claimed it to be a 'break from magic' so he could 'indulge in other splendors of life' but all it was to Clow was punishment.  
  
He didn't really mean to make their clothes fall apart, and when he explained it, no one would really listen. It was a little strange, because normaly Clow was allowed free reign of the house, library and apothecary, and he did make little mistakes from time to time, but everyone had always smiled and sent him back on his way, repairing whatever damage had been done, so Clow couldn't see how this was an different.  
  
From what he recalled, the servant girl had been sent to kitchen duty, so Clow wouldn't see her again for a while. True, Clow had never seen a dressless maiden, but it shouldn't have mattered. It wasn't really a big deal to him, though it obviously was to everyone else. Clow had laughed at the time, it was rather a silly mistake. Now he was rather cross for his parent's out of character harshness. He would experiment all he liked.  
  
And he would use the symbol he liked, too.  
  
Clow had drawn several symbols, but he only really liked one, but out of the ones he had drawn, his father liked it the least. He thought it too different from the usual symbol style. Clow would use it anyway. A slight defiant smile touched Clow's lips. He did admire his father, though , for he did have great power compared to other sorcerers and he was very wise and usually knew what was best, but how was Clow to know if it was best until he had done everything else?  
  
Clow opened one of his workbooks to the page he had used to draw symbol ideas and frowned at the casual cross over his favorite one. He committed it to memory and opened another notebook, his largest, and the one he referred to most often, though no one else knew of its existence. It contained information he had found in the library books and he had found it far more interesting than the other things in his study notebooks. He had copied down some fascinating, though controversial spells and information on magical theory he doubted his father would let him get at so early, and maybe even some his father didn't even know.  
  
With a moment's concentration, Clow charged his hands with the spell he would use to inscribe his symbol into his magic aura. Tracing with his fingers, he drew the symbol into the air before him. He may have been able to manipulate some spells so there was no need to wait for a specific phase of the moon, but he couldn't work some of the stronger ones without a symbol. So far he wasn't allowed to use the advanced spells that needed a personal symbol, but he would have been soon, seeing as he was told to design symbols as he studied.  
  
Once he had traced his symbol into the air, it flared suddenly, burning itself into his aura and weaving itself around his person, as unique as he was, and perfectly compatible. Clow couldn't help but smile. He was now just like any other sorcerer, no longer a student, but an apprentice, with all of the potential to become a true master. He was complete, but for a few little holes in the knowledge he had up to that point, having paid more attention to the things considered 'out of his league' than to the things he actually was studying. Even with those little holes, there was no problem., he simply improvised, though fortunately no one knew this. Apparently improvisation when it came to magic was not looked upon with praise, which was why sorcerers usually ended up writing only two or three spells in their lifetime.  
  
Bull cocky, Clow thought. Too little to be worth anything. It was such a waste. So far he had a dozen or so, each scrawled into his Book of Shadows. There was a Book of Shadows that was a family heirloom, but Clow wanted to have his very own, namingly because he didn't want to use up the rest of the pages in the family book, and also because he didn't particularly want to let everyone know just how many spells he had and what kinds he was writing.  
  
Clow glanced at the spell he had copied in his notebook, and thought of how he could manipulate it. Fortunately, it had no material components so all he really had to do was chant and wave his arms a lot. Well, not really wave, but it was just more amusing to say it that way.  
  
He began the incantation, smiling as his symbol appeared at his feet in shimmering golden lines of light, and concentrated on the flow of magic around him, second nature to him, of course, but the way the spell was coming was the way it was supposed to be coming, and if he did nothing to change the flow, it would fail because of the phase of the moon. Perhaps if he altered how the power of the moon was in the room...? He shifted his hands and strayed slightly from the proper somatic movements of the spell and drew upon the moons essence, changing it, then feeding it to the spell.  
  
What the spell was supposed to do was open a small portal into the elemental plane of his choosing, air, he had decided, and it took about ten minutes to cast on average. Clow wasn't average though. Skipping over the things that the spell write had failed to notice weren't necessary to the spell and going with ease through the complicated parts that lengthened the casting time without faltering or botching the spell came to him, and it was more than natural, and he had no words to explain how.  
  
The only things that ruined his spells were if his suspicion about how to change the spell to suit his needs instead changed it in a different manner. There was, after all, far too much excess components to most spells he saw, and he had never come across a raw spell brought down to it's basics, ones that could be cast without words, without materials... only thought and will and magic.  
  
The door opened. Clow wasn't startled at this, no, for it was a very rare thing indeed that startled him, but he did not sense the person approach his room, he was distracted with his spell, and his concentration wavered. It was Arthur, there to deliver Clow his meal.  
  
Clow had ceased his chanting, and he realized too late that he shouldn't have. A tear in the air itself formed in front of him, its mouth rimmed with the same golden light that his symbol was currently composed of. It should have been a portal, not a tear, and it didn't lead to the elemental plane of air. Arthur dropped the tray with a loud cry of surprise, and hurried out of sight. No doubt to get his father, Clow thought dismally, but most of his thoughts fell away when he looked at the "portal" he had opened.  
  
No... that wasn't right at all... swirling masses of darkness raged madly on the other side...  
  
Cow tapped into the flow of magic within himself once more and started to work away at the rip to another plane. The sights within the tear changed, but didn't disappear, and Clow felt himself being drawn in. He could see loose papers being blown in to alternate dimensions, and he would soon be following if he didn't stop it. A flash of power came from his outstretched hands and the scene within changed again... crystal blue sky, ground far below filled with trees and green. The ground, he realized with a start, seemed to be coming closer, and as the air around him whipped through his hair, and his feet touched ground no longer, he knew he was falling.  
  
He had been staring so fixedly at the tear that he didn't realize that he had already been pulled in. He twisted to see the golden mouth of the portal close behind him, and then the sky and ground were gone, and masses of darkness consumed him. 


	2. 2

2 Four years had passed before Sakura felt she could forget about Syaoran ever coming back. He had sent a number of letters and they had talked over the phone a number of times, but there was little to no indication whatsoever that Syaoran would even come visiting for a long time to come.  
  
She had not even heard so much as a peep from Eriol in over a year. Life had been relatively normal considering her father had magic himself now, and Yue, Kero and the Cards could wander the house without worry. The Cards, though, had no real use since everything in the magical spectrum of things was relatively calm.  
  
A question had been plaguing Sakura for some time, but she wanted to wait for the perfect moment to ask so she wouldn't be offending anyone, especially Yue because her question might affect him directly.  
  
Today was that day, she decided. The day was bright, her father was in a lecture, and Yue was as happy as he would probably get. Well, maybe happy wasn't the right word for it..... content suited him better.  
  
Sakura wandered into the kitchen, knowing that was where she would find Kero. Sure enough, she caught him delving into the fridge again. 'Kero?'  
  
'Mmff.' He replied, his mouth currently full.  
  
'First of all, what ARE you eating?'  
  
Kero swallowed something that was obviously too big for him to have swallowed just yet and took a breath. 'Plums.'  
  
'Uh-huh.' Sakura said, smiling a little. 'Okay, secondly..... I've been wanting to know because I don't know very much on the subject and you weren't exactly really talkative about it..... What was Clow Reed like? Really?'  
  
Kero's reaction was unlike what she had expected. His mellow expression shattered to the floor and the colour seemed to drain from his face. He struggled with several long vowel sounds for a while before responding. 'R- really? What he was really like?'  
  
Sakura nodded a little meekly.  
  
Kero sighed and closed the fridge door, hovering to the table and settling down to it's surface, an uneasy look on his face. 'Well. I..... I guess you should know now.' Kero sighed deeply and didn't meet Sakura's eyes. 'He was a good person, certainly, and he was humble about his talents, he was clever beyond all reasoning.....'  
  
'But.....' Sakura suggested.  
  
Kero frowned and sighed again. 'Yeah..... but. Well, his heart was in the right place, but his ideas seemed..... well, twisted. He was obscure in his ways, whimsical, sometimes strangely sadistic, he was random, mysterious, casual, fickle..... and just generally odd. I heard his father say once that he was too erratic to be a sorcerer. At least, to be a proper one, but somehow.....'  
  
'His father? You knew the rest of his family, too?'  
  
'Well, mostly. His mother died before I was created, and the immediate family was pretty isolated.'  
  
'I never really thought about his family.' Sakura mused. 'I suppose I should have, after all, Syaoran is a descendant and all. Clow must have been a great dad if mine's any indication.'  
  
'When his kids were younger, he was perfect for them, but when they got older..... well, they moved out pretty quick. They didn't get along with one another and Clow couldn't understand why, after all he got on great with his own siblings. He confided in me and Yue about this subject a number of times. I told him it was because they were half-brothers but he said that shouldn't make a difference.'  
  
'Whoa, hang on. Let's see if I got this..... Clow has siblings, and his own children, both sons, were half brothers, right?'  
  
'Yeah, you got it.'  
  
'And his mother died.....' Just like mine, Sakura thought. 'Did he talk about her much? When did she die?'  
  
'I dunno. When the subject came around, he just casually brushed it off. His father absolutely refused to talk about it, too.' Kero replied, arms crossed and eyes closed.  
  
'I don't really blame them. She must have been a wonderful person..... if no one wanted to talk about her that much it must have hurt to think about. I don't really mind talking about my mom since I didn't really know her. Dad's okay, though he doesn't talk about her much. Everyone else just gets defensive when someone talks about her. Oh, right I was going to ask, why were they only half brothers?'  
  
'You remember the Madoushi, don't you?' Kero asked. (Author's note: Pardon me, I'm adding stuff from the first movie simply because it works.)  
  
'Oh! Yeah! I remember her. She was..... she was..... oh.....'  
  
'Yeah. Clow did love her. She abused her power, though not until after..... He didn't want to banish her when she was bearing a child, so he waited until she gave birth to his son before banishing her.'  
  
Sakura was shocked into silence for a while. It didn't sound like the Clow she had heard of at all. She knew he had locked her away in the alternate universe, but the way Kero put it made Clow sound like he didn't care for her at all. 'That's terrible.....'  
  
'Yeah. Most people couldn't believe it, but he said it had to be done, and it was left at that. He may have been..... a little bit lacking in the total sanity department,' Kero said tapping his head indicatively. 'but people believed him. He eventually fell in love with another, and she died giving birth to twins and even then one was stillborn. He was just crushed. I remember him telling Yue that he just couldn't win, and he vowed not to fall in love again, it would only end in sadness.'  
  
'That's terrible, too.....' Sakura said softly. She couldn't help but think of Syaoran for a moment.  
  
'He did his best to raise the kids together, but they never did and they left home almost as soon as they were able. Clow was just too strange for them once they got older.' Kero sighed and continued. 'I guess his state was due to the fact that he saw into the future.'  
  
'What was it like for him, to see into the future? How did he?'  
  
'Different ways depending on what he was seeing. Mostly he just saw things or simply knew things before they happened and usually without realizing. Other things..... usually traumatic things he saw differently. He'd see them in vividly intense images and from the perspective of everyone involved. He described what it was like to me once..... only once, and then he never spoke of it again. He said that he saw and heard everything, felt everything..... he experienced all of the feelings and thoughts of the people involved, and all of it flooded into his mind over a span of fifteen seconds and he saw all of this over, and over- that's probably what did it.'  
  
'Oh.....' Sakura breathed. 'How long did this happen?'  
  
'It lasted a few minutes, usually. He's been getting them since he was four, I think.'  
  
Sakura blinked and sat down. 'Since..... he was..... four?'  
  
Kero nodded gravely.  
  
Sakura was silent just imagining all of what Kero told him. 'I'm glad I didn't ask Yue.....' She muttered. Then, 'I think I'll go for a walk.'  
  
'Where?' Kero asked quietly. 'So I can tell Fujitaka when he comes home.'  
  
'Tsukimine.' She said, and went out the back door. Her thoughts turned to Eriol as she rounded the first corner on her path. 'No wonder he just wanted to be normal.....'  
  
As Sakura slowly walked down the street, deep in thought. That discussion was nothing like she thought it would be. Sakura had thought that, being the most powerful sorcerer around, Clow would have been happier. Kind of like being a genius in a public school and hardly having to work at all. Maybe some of it was like that, she thought reassuringly.  
  
The sky darkened, dark and pale gray clouds sweeping majestically across the sky, and it began to rain gently. Tsukimine Shrine was just ahead now. She hadn't been there in some time, but she remembered how calm she felt there. The cherry tree was the same as she remembered it, she saw as she wandered under the arch. She glanced over the tree and saw the radio tower. 'That's where I was tested..... by Yue and Eriol.....' She whispered to herself.  
  
She looked away and continued on her way, walking down the path that went through the forest behind Tsukimine. It was like she remembered it, calming, tranquil..... and her thoughts quieted. She was only sprinkled with water because of the foliage shielding her from the brunt of the rain.  
  
Something caught her eye just off the path and a little ways into the forest. It was a dark shape, unnatural, and it stood out against the shades and tones of the bright green grass on the forest floor. Curious, she moved closer, and she came to realize that it was a person, fallen in the forest, damp from the rain. She dashed quickly towards them to see if they were alright, as they were just lying on the ground which didn't seem right to Sakura.  
  
He had white pants and was wearing a black robe of sorts, embroidered with fine golden thread in a Chinese style. He had small wire frame glasses with round lenses, slightly crooked on his nose. His hair was tangled and untidy and, were it brushed, would have come down a little past his shoulders. It was as black as midnight, but with a silvery-blue shimmer. His pale features were very familiar indeed.....  
  
'Eriol?! Eriol, are you alright?' Sakura gently shook him. He looked older, which was easily understandable, but it was unmistakably him. How had he gotten there? What was wrong with him? 'Eriol..... Eriol!'  
  
'Mmmhhhh.....' The prone figure groaned. He opened his eyes slowly and looked up at her, questioning in his eyes. 'You.....' He said faintly. 'Who are you?' 


	3. 3

3 

'W-what? Eriol, it's me, Sakura.'

'…..Eriol?' He said, sitting up slowly.

'You- you don't remember?' Sakura was beginning to second-guess herself. It WAS Eriol, she was sure of it…..

'Not the name Eriol. Well, at least, no one referring to ME as Eriol. Well…..' He said, turning a little red in the cheeks. 'At least, not meaning to call me Eriol. Or, rather, not….. fully….. conscious when they did so….. Umm….. may I start over?'

'You're not Eriol?' Sakura questioned, very confused.

'Not to my knowledge, no.' He voiced a strange sigh, and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples with his left hand. He began muttering to himself. 'Arthur came in, then….. I fell?'

'I think you must have.' Said Sakura with concern. 'My house isn't far from here. If you think you can stand, I'll bring you there, unless you want me to get help here instead.'

'Help? Oh, no, I'm fine. Just a little….. confused. What place is this?'

Sakura gave him a strange look. 'Tomoeda.'

'Ah, I see.' He pondered a moment and rather nonchalantly said, 'And when is it?'

Sakura gave him another strange look. He was giving off a strange power that was being subdued, but it seemed familiar.

'Never you mind. I believe I can stand. Just need a tree to help me.'

Sakura moved forward and started to help him.

'No, no.' He said. 'I said the tree would help me. You just wait a moment.' He said rather defensively.

Sakura watched, still somewhat baffled, but still certain that it was Eriol. Who else could it be? She mused about what could have caused him to lose his memory for she had experience of such things; she had almost had her own memories taken at the end of the Final Judgment. Maybe some of his memories would come back if he were reminded of the people he knew.

'Alright, which way?' Eriol said to her, looking rather well. He was working on smoothing out his clothing and straightening his hair, but with no seeming avail and he left his hair alone.

'Well, it's this way…' Sakura began leading him off, out of the Tsukimine shrine. 'I got a letter from Syaoran the other day…'

Eriol didn't seem to be paying much attention. 'This is a lovely park… I feel I've been here before, or maybe I will be in the future.'

'Maybe…' Sakura replied, becoming rather lost with him. He stopped and made a sound of realization. Sakura paused and turned to look at him slowly. 'Something the matter?'

'Just that we haven't been properly introduced. Your name is Sakura, right?'

'Yes. Sakura Kinomoto.'

'Somehow a very suiting name.' He bowed politely. 'My name is Clow Reed.'

There was a silence as this took several more moments to actually register, and when at last it struck her full, she turned red. 'Really? I thought you were someone else.' She said, in a voice rather more squeaky than usual.

'That much is so, since you thought I was Eriol. Are you catching a cold in this rain?' He spoke so calmly, like it didn't matter at all. The rational part of Sakura's mind told her that that was probably because he was used to being Clow Reed, but most of her mind saw still running with the fact that this was Clow Reed… the genuine article…

Suddenly very flustered, her next words came out in a jumble. 'Itsnicetameetyou!'

'God bless you!' He said with enthusiasm, and turned back to the way out of the shrine.

Sakura took chase after taking a few more moments to recover from the initial shock. As she took over and led him down the street, she stole glances at him. He really was identical to Eriol, or rather, the other way around. She could sense the power coming from him, somehow more free than all of the other magic of Clow she had encountered; untamed, almost. She shivered as the hair on the back of her neck stood on end with the sheer power. She supposed that since he was young, he wasn't as trained as he probably was when he created the Cards and Guardians. She suspected she may appear the same way to him.

And he mentioned it, as though reading her thoughts. 'Do you realize that you're a pretty strong sorceress? Are you getting training, or is this the first you've heard of your magic?' It was a rather casual tone, giving the impression that this was something he spoke of often with strangers.

'Yes, I am…'

He laughed a little. It was just a soft chuckle to himself. 'Don't think it would be anyone I know training you.'

'Well, about that…' What was she supposed to say? She thought to herself that it may change something if he found out about the Cards, and Kero, and Yue… and knew he'd be the one to create them. Or maybe not; Sakura realized that she didn't know very much at all about time travel. It wasn't exactly a common thing. 'No, you don't.'

_Not yet._

'Will I get to meet your mentor in your home?'

'Y-yes, he sort of lives with us.'

Clow replied as though this were simply ridiculous. 'He lives with you? And you are not related, right?'

'Not really… it's a unique situation, I'm starting to think.'

'No doubt. You'll have to tell me about it when I meet him. This really is an interesting place,' he added, looking around at the neighbourhood.

'You'd be surprised…' Sakura muttered, and turned towards her house.

'Oh, this is it? It's lovely.' He wandered over to the flowerbed. 'Spell components, or just decoration?'

He comes from a much different world, she thought. Not only from the past, but from a society where magic is probably used quite openly. 'They're just for decoration. You should come inside, it's raining.'

He leisurely made his way to the door, secure in the knowledge that he could not get much wetter, and followed her inside.

'Sakura, is that you?' Kero called. He floated his way into the entrance hall and stopped rather suddenly upon sight of Sakura's guest. 'Where'd you find Eriol?'

Clow smiled. 'You know, you're the second person to call me that today?' Sakura sighed a little as Kero made a puzzled face, and brought them all into the living room for a little talk.


End file.
